Tuesday Affairs
by tadako.kazahaya
Summary: AU. He's a player who knows how to charm. She's a strongheaded girl who hates his kind. A day in a week brings them together. [sxk] Ch3 up!
1. Monday's Misfortune

(**a/n**): This is supposed to be a silly, funny, romantic, ironic (?), light-hearted fic. Let's see if I can pull this off…

Oh yeah. In case you were wondering, I haven't given up on _Daydreams and Summertime_ (my other fic), so don't worry… if you haven't read it, I would appreciate it if you would (harhar advertisement).

(**dsclm**): 1- Kingdom Hearts I/II and the Final Fantasy series are copyrighted to Square. 2- I did not write _The Glass Menagerie;_ it's a play by Tennessee Williams that is also available in a form of a novel. 3- Vocab reference from dictionary dot com?

(**dscrptn**): AU. He's a player who knows how to charm. She's a strong-headed girl who absolutely hates his kind. A day in the week brings them together. sxk

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**Tuesday Affairs**:_ 01.Monday's.Misfortune_

Score. Another winning shot into the basket. The opposing team groaned; they didn't expect the redheaded girl to be good enough to get a shot. Kairi grinned when she saw the look on the other team's faces; she loved it when people realized that she wasn't any girl to be taken lightly, especially in basketball.

"And that's game. Winning team, sit by the bleachers," the teacher instructed. Kairi made her way by the bleachers and sat by her friend, Selphie, who was also on her team.

"That was awesome, Kairi," Selphie complimented. Kairi nodded in gratitude. "You should join an after school sport or something – our team would totally own if you decided to join volleyball!"

"Work," Kairi replied. "I have work, and Tuesdays are my only day off…"

"Not even Sunday's?" Selphie asked.

"Well, that too, but I do chores then…" Before Kairi could explain any further, she spotted something of interest on the other side of the gym. Noticing this, Selphie looked as well. The two saw a blonde girl, standing idly and talking to other girls during a ballgame. She shrieked when the ball bounced by her and shielded herself, the ball missing her by a mile. Selphie burst out in laughter.

"HAHAHA. Oh man, Namine's hilarious! She's such a—_girl_," Selphie stated. "Quite the opposite from you, Kairi. She's not even paying attention to the game! I can't believe you guys are related." Kairi sighed and looked away in embarrassment.

"Please, don't remind me. I get enough of it by just dealing with her everyday," Kairi replied. Selphie chuckled.

"Ah man, you're so blunt! That's so typical of you," Selphie said with a cute wink. Kairi shrugged it off, as she was used to Selphie's playfulness. "Look at _that_."

Kairi looked to where Selphie gestured and saw another certain someone sitting by the bleachers, socializing away. He had brown spiked hair with charming blue eyes and a flirtatious grin that spread across his face. Kairi frowned in disgust. The girls that were talking to him were totally entranced by his handsome features and smooth talk, although the redhead didn't see anything enticing about him. She turned away. She hated players.

"I don't know what you're looking at," Kairi lied.

"Yes you do. Look at 'em – and your cousin."

"_What?_" Kairi turned again and there she saw Namine slowly approach the guy shyly but frivolously, entering the conversation after a light tap on the shoulder. The bliss-filled moment was obvious on the cousin's expression. Kairi boiled with revulsion.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"NAMINE!" Kairi exclaimed as she slammed her hand on the table. Namine calmly placed her tray of cafeteria food down on the table, sat down, and look up at her cousin smiling innocently.

"Sup, Kairi," Namine replied sweetly.

"Last period, I saw you talking to _someone_," she said.

"Wow, straight to the point as always, Kairi," Selphie muttered with a grin. A girl with brown-layered hair and glasses next to Selphie nudged her for some info on what was going on. While Selphie exchanged information, the two cousins ignored them and Namine sheepishly smiled back at Kairi as she frowned.

"S-someone?" Namine asked, trying to sound as guiltless as possible.

"Don't play dumb with me. It was _that guy_! You know that he's no good news," Kairi said.

"B-but—Kairi!" Namine whined, "Sora's, like, _so_ nice and _so_ charming! Not to mention the fact that he's, like, TOTALLY _hot_, but that's besides the point. You should, like, talk to him and see for yourself."

"No," Kairi curtly replied. "Absolutely not. He's a _playboy_, Namine, and if you give in to his sugar-coating, you might just end up being _one of those girls_ on his 'did' list!!"

Selphie busted out into laughter.

"HAHAHA. _Did List_ ! That's pretty creative, Kairi!" Selphie said. But again, she was ignored.

"Namine, you're a pretty girl and to be honest, you're kind of gullible, so you'd be an easy target," Kairi added.

"You'd be pretty too, if you didn't have your hair tied up like that all the time!" Namine said as if to swerve the conversation in another direction.

"My hair has nothing to do with this," Kairi said. Namine sighed and tucked her bangs behind her ear, making her tangling earrings more obvious.

"I don't know why you're so mad, Kairi. Sora's, like, the nicest, friendliest guy ever and everyone says so," Namine sulked.

"Yeah. You jealous or somethin', Kairi?" Selphie asked.

"Ha! I'm not jealous of anything. I'm just telling Namine what's best for her – that she should pay less attention to guys and concentrate on her grades."

"Hey! Don't bring my grades into this! I already get that enough from my mom. Just because you're the older than me by, like, a week doesn't mean that you have to… be a meanie!" Namine pouted.

"Then, grades aside, you shouldn't let yourself get won over so easily. Don't you have any sense of pride?" Kairi lectured.

"Oh no," Selphie muttered, "that pride talk again?"

"Girls, girls," said the girl with the layered hair. All three of them turned their heads. "Keep it down, I'm trying to study in _peace_." The three of them settled down and Kairi finally sat in a seat with no appetite.

"You're so lucky, Olette! You've got beauty _and_ brains," Namine sighed. "But why do you wear glasses?"

"Because," Olette said, "If I take them off, guys intend to bother me while I'm studying."

"Oh ho ho! Meaning that you know you're hot stuff, right 'Lettie?" Selphie teased.

"Don't call me that," Olette replied monotonously. "At least if I appear to look like a geek, I could get some studying done without interruption… but I suppose that doesn't work when I'm with you guys."

Selphie laughed as Namine thoguth and failed to comprehend Olette's study-oriented lifestyle. Kairi kept away from their conversation as she thought about how horrible the start of the school semester was beginning. At the first day of school, the unlucky possibility finally came to be when she found out that Sora was in a lot of her classes. Sure enough, all he did was flirt with girls. Kairi turned her head to the other side of the cafeteria to find Sora sitting at a table of girls doing what he did best: charm. She cringed at the sight of him. Looking away, she created an inner vow to avoid him as much as she could all throughout the school year.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Second to last class of the day: Language Arts Literature, a core class that Kairi was actually okay with. The teacher had assigned a list of vocabulary to go over that night for a quiz on Friday. Kairi flipped opened her vocabulary book and wrote down the first definition in her notes. She always remembered things better if she wrote it down.

_**Affair** n  
1. Something done or to be done: business.  
2. An occurrence, event, or matter: 'the senator's death was a tragic affair'.  
3. A social function.  
4. A matter of personal concern: 'to get one's affairs in order'.  
5. A matter of causing public scandal and controversy.  
6. A romantic and sexual relationship, sometimes one of brief duration, between two people who are not married to each other._

Kairi paused after writing down the first word's meaning. Looking over the definition again, she wondered why anyone would stick in such a basic word into a high school level vocabulary book.

"Alright, class, please put your vocabulary books away and take out the summer reading book that you were assigned to read – the book that you will do a report on shortly." the teacher said. The majority of the class groaned, excluding Kairi and others who didn't mind tackling a project or two. "Oh, and also get out that summer homework for the other book you had to read." As the students took out their books and papers, Kairi caught sight of Sora who sat closest to the door. The boy didn't seem to have anything to take out, let alone a measly pencil – so much for preparation. She silently hoped that the teacher would scold him or something; Ms. Trepe seemed like a strict enough teacher to do something like that, what with that serious expression and humorless tone of voice. However, Kairi could imagine that Sora would only reply flirtatiously since she was still young and beautiful.

"You're all going to be working with a partner for this assignment," Ms Trepe announced as she pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "There will only be groups of two, since this class has an even number of students. No, you will absolutely have no class-time to work on this project except for today in which you will talk to your partner about arranging some kind of meeting plan after-school or at home."

"Do we get to pick partners?" asked a student.

"No. In fact, I already assigned partners." The teacher took out a piece of paper with a list on it and began to recite the names, each student listening intently. "Luneth and Refia… Sara and Ingus… Riku and Pence… Arc and Aria… Salina and Desch… Kairi and Sora—"

_WHAT?_ Kairi thought with bulging eyes. She screamed inwardly to herself, silently in her thoughts and she covered her mouth in case she really did it. She glanced at Sora – thank God she sat slightly out of his view – who looked around the classroom for his partner. He shrugged and gave up. Did Sora even know who she was? Well, that didn't matter. She groaned in agony to herself as a wave of dread came over her. How would she ever handle working with him, let alone be near him? And what was the likelihood of the two being paired up together? Kairi thought it wouldn't have been likely to even sit by him – now she would have no choice but to see him outside of school. She shuddered at the terrible thought of having Sora get well acquainted with her. The young teen, feeling as if she could throw up at any minute, suddenly had the strong urge to shrivel up and die in a corner. This was going to be the worst project ever.

"And that's basically it – we'll talk about the project tomorrow. Hand in your reports before the class ends. Now, break into pairs," the teacher announced. Kairi looked up from her desk and hit herself in the forehead.

_CRAP_, she thought, _I wasn't freaking paying attention! N-no, I don't want to do this…!_ She looked at her watch, seeing that the class was almost over in about 10 minutes. _Maybe the bell will ring before he figures out that I'm his partner. _Of course, that idea was ridiculous seeing as Sora couldn't be _that_ stupid. Before she thought of plan B, a certain someone approached her; it was Sora.

"Excuse me," he said sweetly, "but are you my partner?"

Kairi looked away.

"Y-yes…" she said hesitantly. Sora's face lit up and he pulled up a nearby, empty seat. She didn't even want to look at him. Kairi heard another girl nearby whisper to her friend about how lucky she was to have been paired up with notorious Sora. _Lucky my ass,_ Kairi thought.

"Awesome. I never dreamed I'd be able to ever get a chance to know you. I see you around, but we don't really talk, you know? So, you're Kairi, right?" he asked. Kairi nodded, trying her hardest to ignore her undying, hateful judgment of him. Indeed, he was friendly.

_Okay, calm down… let's just say that he's only trying to start up a casual conversation,_ she convinced herself. Finally, the two established eye contact. She silently admitted that he had nice eyes, a pleasant pair of azure orbs, but swore to never fall for his alluring stare.

"Did anyone tell you had really nice eyes?" he winked. Kairi couldn't help but cringe, but turned away again quickly so he couldn't see her reaction. He chuckled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to flatter you – cause it's the truth. And not many girls put their hair the way you do, so it only amplifies the beauty of your eyes."

"Th-thanks…" Kairi said, forcing herself to smile back at him. "S-so, the project," she said, trying change the subject, "I admit that I wasn't quite listening… what did we have to do?"

"Oh. Well, the non-optional book we had to read – wait, what was it called again?"

"_The Glass Menagerie_," Kairi replied.

"Oh, right. Well, we don't know what we have to do yet, but right now we're suppose to go over the book a little and discuss about when and where we could meet up and stuff," he said. Kairi nodded, taking in the info he provided. However, at the back of her mind she feared what her meeting days with Sora would be like aside from the assumption that he was a lazy student since he didn't seem to have his book or summer homework with him. "Actually, I can't deny that people might start to wonder why I'm with such a pretty girl like you," Sora grinned, putting his charm to work.

_Oh, kill me._ "Thank you, but I think you're overrating my looks," she replied as amiable as she could. "Anyway – I'm only free on Tuesdays."

"Oh. Not Sundays?"

"That's my resting day, so I'd rather not meet up then… unless there's no other option," she told him, reluctantly confessing that last part.

"Hmm… I'm free throughout the whole week _except_ for Tuesdays," Sora sulked. "And I don't want to have to take away your resting day." Kairi beamed but tried to contain her joy.

"R-really? I mean—that sucks. So, does this mean that we have to work separately and just tell each other our progress whenever we see each other?" Kairi asked, trying to make a subtle hint. Sora thought to himself.

"Actually…"

"Huh?"

"No, never mind. I actually think we can pull off out meeting on Tuesdays!" Sora chirped. Kairi's heart dropped.

"W-wha?"

"Unless you have a problem coming home late – I'd say around… nine at night?" Sora asked cautiously, worried if Kairi were to reply yes.

"I get home around that time from work," she automatically answered. Kairi inwardly gasped and covered her mouth at what she just said, but Sora didn't notice her sudden anguish. _W-why the heck did I say that!_

"Awesome! So we CAN work together on Tuesdays?" The brunette looked so happy that Kairi couldn't refuse him. She sighed in defeat.

"I-I guess…"

"Cool. Now I have a new, pretty friend," he winked. "And I hope you don't mind train rides."

"Wh-wha?"

Before she could ask what he meant, the bell rang and Sora flew out of the door as if he intentionally avoided her inquiry. All she could do was gawk at nothing as she wondered what was to come. Then she realized – _tomorrow_ was Tuesday.

"AUGH," she cried, gathering her stuff for the next class.

"Something wrong, Miss Kairi?" the teacher asked.

"N-no. Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong _at all_." The teen stormed out of the classroom, her realy question lingering in her head. _Just what exactly did this project get me into?_

/end

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**a/n**: I feel like the ending of this chapter was a little rushed… but I'm too lazy to fix it. Later, maybe. :)

What do you guys think? Please, please, PLEEASE review!

Thanks for reading.


	2. Tuesday Trainwreck

**+ a/n**: SO FOUR MONTHS LATER… I have a lot of excuses for not updating this damn fic for so long (PLENTY of them), but I'll save you the trouble. But I'll let you know that MY COMPUTER DIED. Thank goodness I had emailed this fanfic to myself for some bizarre reason. -**Dies**- But, really, I'm very, truly sorry.

But anyway, thanks for all of your reviews!! They meant a lot to me, and it really encourages me to write more. I like writing for my own enjoyment too but you reviewers are like the pickles and tomatoes of my ham sandwich! -heart- Again, I am sorry for making everyone wait.

**+ dsclm**: 1- Kingdom Hearts I/II and the Final Fantasy series are copyrighted to Square. 2- I did NOT write or make up **any** contents of _The Glass Menagerie_; it is a play by Tennessee Williams that is also available in novel form. No, you don't necessarily have to read it to understand the references I use from it. 3- and finally, the vocabulary definition used in this chapter was stolen from dictionary dot com.

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**Tuesday Affairs**:_02.Tuesday.Trainwreck_

Namine stared at her cousin's food as Selphie nervously fidgeted in her seat. Kairi stared to the side with eyes as heavy as death, gaunt and weary possibly from a sleepless night. She might very well have been a zombie. Olette did her usual studying, but even _she,_ the seemingly uncaring study-holic, noticed that there was definitely something up with her redheaded friend. What was even stranger to her was that Selphie didn't crack one joke or put in any silly snide comments to lighten the mood. Suddenly, in the midst of her studying, the tip of her pencil broke. The table was so silent that both Namine and Selphie heard it snap… although, they couldn't tell whether it was really her _pencil_ that snapped, or if it was _her._

"AGH!" Olette cried, making everyone in the table jump, including Kairi. They all looked at her, frightened. "THAT'S IT! This is _ridiculous_! I know I always complained about how loud this table was, but this silence is so freaking awkward that I can't even concentrate!" she exclaimed. Kairi then realized that those angry eyes behind those glasses were pointed directly towards her. She leaned back in defense, scared and confused as to what the hell was going on.

"W-what! What'd I do!" Kairi ask.

"I'll tell you what you're doing!" Olette began. "There's something wrong with you! And it's bothering us! Some kind of pent up tension is leaking out and it's sending us bad vibes! Selphie isn't fooling around, Namine isn't babbling about some hot jock, and _I'm _having a hard time studying! _What the hell is bothering you, dammit!_"

Indeed, Kairi was dumbfounded. She didn't know whether her friend was really worried, or if she was demanding an answer because it was a hazard to her perfect grades. She glanced at both Namine and Selphie – the look on their faces screamed 'terror' and they dared not say a word lest they pay the consequence. The three of them knew that Kairi was scary when she was mad, but they were well aware that Olette was tens times worse. The bookworm might as well slit your throat and it would've been merciful. Kairi shrugged back and shielded herself with her plastic spoon. A sheepish smile spread across her face.

"U-um… So, it's that obvious?" she asked.

"You, like…" Namine squeaked, pointing at her food, "…You're not eating. You've been, like… mashing your French fries this whole time."

Kairi looked down at her food tray. Undeniably, her french-fries had turned into mashed potatoes while her other foods haven't even been touched.

"Uh… oh."

"And you're not even looking at your food. You keep staring at—at nothing! You've been totally spaced out the whole day today, it's creepy," Selphie added. Kairi looked up at Olette again, her eyes seething with irritation.

"S-sorry," Kairi said, scratching her head. "I've got a lot on my mind and I didn't mean to—"

"THAT'S WHAT I MEAN," Olette cried. The three wanted to duck under the table. Even other students started to notice the ruckus that the school nerd was causing, but fortunately quickly brushed it off.

"Huh?"

"Your reaction! That response was _weak_," Olette stated. "If you were _normal_, you would've thrown out some fake, BS-excuse like, 'I'm just not hungry' 'Nothing's wrong' or 'I don't know what you're talking about' or something! So the fact that you're being this honest tells us that something's up! You usually lie to us so we wouldn't worry – what the hell happened to your headstrong, proud, self-sufficient redheaded self? THAT'S what I'm talking about. SO, in conclusion, just having you act like you're unable to handle _whatever_ problem is _really freaking me out_, Kai!"

Selphie and Namine gaped at Olette in both fear and amazement. The girl was ever so observant and was quick and accurate with her analyzing. Things were never overlooked with her.

"Wow, you're so right, Olette!" Selphie agreed. "Kairi's unusually mellow and complacent today!

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kairi replied angrily.

"Yeah, like, totally. I would, like, _know_, too! Kairi's, like, not so good at the girl-talk thing so, like, for her to even, like, _try_ is, like, amazing!" Namine intoned.

"_What did you just say?_" Kairi growled. Selphie laughed at Namine's comment as the blonde took a book to hide behind before Kairi could do anything. Finally, the usual liveliness started to immerse. Olette's expression slowly reverted back to monotony as she sat back down, only to continue where she left off in the textbook. She took out a pen.

"That's better," she mumbled to herself with a sigh. Kairi turned to Olette, nodding in silent gratitude before turning back to the more easy-going duo.

"But, like, really, Kairi! You can, like, talk to us if you want. That's what girls do best – talk!" Namine chirped.

"_No._ I don't want to talk about it. I'd throw up," the redhead snappily replied.

"Hey! That's not fair," Selphie pouted. "But that's okay. You'll tell us one day! You can't bottle up all your problems forever!"

Selphie and Namine laughed, Olette studied, and Kairi sighed at the boisterous yet familiar lunch scene. In the back of her mind however, the thought of Sora managed to linger in her thoughts, constantly poking at her like a thorn. He hadn't approached her or talked to her the whole day, much to Kairi's relief. _So much about being 'friends'_ she thought to herself. She still felt apprehensive about what happened yesterday, especially since today was _Tuesday_.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kairi glanced at Sora almost impatiently. She couldn't help but feel annoyed – one would think that he would at least greet her the inevitable 'hello' once English class started. But no, he didn't even say one word to her, not even a flirtatious smirk or wink and already the class would be over soon. It had been almost exactly twenty-four hours – _twenty-four hours_ – since his last words had put her under anticipation and stress. Her mind was so boggled with uncertain expectations for the rest of the day that she was only able to half-listen in class.

"When Tennessee Williams wrote this play," Mrs. Trepe lectured, "he portrayed the Wingfield's as a group of people that were just not in-touch with _reality_. When Amanda first hears of Jim O'Connor's last name, right away she places him into the Irish-stereotype that he is Catholic and that they should prepare fish for dinner…"

Kairi clenched her fist and nibbled on her thumbnail. Who was he to totally forget about her existence the day after they met? Not to mention the fact that he kept showing obvious interest in her. Then again, she should've known that 'jerk' and 'player' were two traits that _always _came hand-in-hand. It was because of those very small aspects that Kairi had finally begun to feel a tiny pinch of insult. But the frustrated teen shook her head and brushed the thought off. As much as the girl felt like his inattentive actions were attacks on her dignity, the heart of the issue was just that he simply left out the details as to exactly _where_ they were going; and they were apparently going there by train. She took another look at him and saw that he was passing notes to his longhaired friend who sat behind him. It was clear to Kairi that Sora was not listening to the teacher at all. Then again, who was she to criticize him about _that_?

Finally, the bell rang. The class period ended. Unlike yesterday, it was noticeable that Sora wasn't intent on rushing out of the classroom this time. Kairi decided to play it cool and she got up from her seat to casually make her way to the door. She knew he'd take the bait. _Don't even look at him – just walk._ She passed by Sora and his friend, but just before she reached the door…

"Wait," Sora called out. Success. She turned to him as he got up; his friend did the same.

"Yes?"

"I forgot to tell you which train station we're going to!" he said happily with a seemingly devious smile. Sora's longhaired friend looked away with a sigh and Kairi noticed this.

"Um…" Kairi could only stare back suspiciously. Instead of retorting she decided to play along. "Yeah… I was wondering about that."

"West Destiny Station," he replied. "I'll pay for your ticket. Meet us by the front entrance."

"Get to your next class, kids," Ms Trepe said.

"Kay, bye-bye!" Sora chirped. "Let's go, Riku."

"Wait!" Kairi cried, "Is that all?"

"Yup," he winked. Before the duo left Riku looked at her briefly with a sincere apologetic look – but said nothing. Kairi inwardly groaned in agony when they were gone. At that moment she was sure that Sora was just playing around with her.

_Alright, then_, she thought, _I'll play your little game for now._

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

School ended at 2pm. It was half an hour passed then and Kairi was already sitting on a bench underneath a coconut tree by the front entrance of West Destiny Station. She cautiously looked around as if to make sure that no one had followed her – earlier before she left school, the teen had a hard time telling her friends, especially Selphie and Namine, that she wasn't able to spend time with them that day. Kairi wasn't concerned much with Olette, but God only knew what kind of hell would be released if the other two were to find out she was secretly meeting up with Sora. And what was worse was that Kairi knew that the pair was crazy enough to follow her. The idea of the humiliating tragedy made her shudder. She shook her head to shake the thought off and groped at the books in her bag to take out anything worthy of studying. A moment later, her vocabulary book was in her hand. _Oh, good_, she thought, _I wasn't able to study any of the words last night. _She flipped through the pages and found a word that caught her eye yet she read only a part of the definition.

_**Train wreck**__ n__  
As a Metaphor:  
Used to describe something distasteful or disastrous, yet inevitable, or something distasteful yet compelling in some form: 'You don't want to stare, but you just can't look away'. A person may be described in this way as being a 'train wreck'._

"What the heck?" the teen mumbled to herself as she raised an eyebrow. "That's not even a word. It's _two_ words."

"What's two words?"

Kairi looked up to see Sora smiling at her. Before she could respond, she noticed a certain someone standing behind him. Another small shock overtook her as she stared. As if two words weren't enough to get her puzzled, fate had sent her two _people_ to convince her otherwise.

"Why are there two of you?" Kairi asked.

"You mean, why's Riku here?" Sora replied. "I thought you knew he was. I _did_ tell you to meet _us_ by the front entrance, right?"

_What the heck!_ Kairi thought. She switched glances with Riku, who was a bit taller than Sora and he gave her the same rueful look. Somehow she was thankful he wasn't much of a talker – maybe he wouldn't be much of a nuisance either. She put her book back in her bag and got up.

"I'll hold your bag," Sora offered. Kairi tilted her head to the side, unsure of his unexpected chivalry.

"You sure?"

"Yeah!" he insisted; Kairi let him carry it. The three of them entered the Train Station and Sora, who was leading the way, went straight to the end of the line to get tickets. In spite of the crowded scene the line was relatively short. Kairi looked up at Riku curiously. She had not heard him say one word since she saw him. From what little she knew about him, she felt like he was an okay guy.

"So…" she began, earning a blank stare from Riku. "What's your reason for coming along?"

"He's here for a different reason, although we're going to the same place," Sora explained.

"I-I see," Kairi said. Sora smiled and turned back to the counter, seeing that it was his turn to buy the tickets. _Can't you let him talk for himself?_ She wanted to say to him. She turned back to Riku. "I'm Kairi. And you're Riku?"

"…Yeah," he replied. His voice was a deep baritone, not too low but noticeably well-passed puberty and was unexpectedly soft and gentle. But that wasn't important.

"Do you know where we're going?" she asked. Riku turned away but Kairi only cocked her head to the side further. If he recalled correctly, he wasn't allowed to tell her until they were on the train. He nervously coughed as Kairi's luring eyes only made him sweat.

"U-umm…" he scratched his head as if he forgot. Kairi waited for the answer patiently yet eagerly, obviously not buying the act.

"Let's go, guys!" Sora chirped with their tickets in hand. He excitedly made his way toward the trains and Riku and Kairi rushed to follow him. The trio approached the trainman and it was Sora who handed him all three of the tickets.

"To Twilight Town, huh?" The trainman said. "Hop in, then."

"_W-what?_" Kairi exclaimed. Before she could further react, Sora grabbed her wrist and before she knew it, they were sitting in the train. Riku soon joined them and both of the boys were on either side of her.

For a second, Kairi was stunned with sudden shock. There was a sudden traffic jam in her flowing train of thought and she did not know how to react.

"T-twilight Town…?" she repeated in disbelief. "_Twilight Town? _We're going onthe_ mainland_ – across the _ocean?_ That's passed Deep Dive City! That's where it _snows_!"

"Uh… yeah. _Surprise_!" Sora cheered sheepishly. Kairi stared at him dumbfounded and he nervously cleared his throat. "I-it's not _that_ far off… This is an express train so we'd get there within an hour and thirty minutes, maybe two hours – regular trains usually take 3, or sometimes even 4 hours."

"Th-that IS far off," Kairi said. She cast her eyes at her feet and there was a long pause. She dared not look at him – If anyone were to see her face they would automatically be able to tell that she wanted someone's head on a platter. Then an idea popped in her head; there was still enough time to run out of the train like a madman, claiming that nothing had ever happened and denying her studentship in any of Sora's classes: an automatic F on the English project, but what else mattered? That seemed like the easier choice. But no – her logical senses got the best of her and her conscience said it would simply be uncalled for, save for being called crazy. The tips of her ponytail touched the back of her neck, slightly moist with a bit of sweat. Sora looked at his friend awkwardly. Riku sighed and covered his face with his sizeable palm.

"If it makes you feel any better, we're stopping by on the outskirts of Deep Dive City… to a place called Traverse Town, to avoid a crowded train," Riku suggested. In spite of Riku's efforts, Kairi did not react. Then again, did the brunet really expect him to make things all better?

"I'm sorry… I was scared that if I told you where we were going, you'd refuse," Sora pouted. Kairi heard the upset undertone in his voice and almost started feeling sorry for reacting the way she did. She was able to glance up at him to see non-other than his exaggerated pouting lips and his wide puppy dog eyes, casting that all too-overused adorable face. She cringed. She almost fell for that trick, too. "You're acting like we're going to a different country. Besides, Twilight Town isn't such a bad place – by the time we get there there'll be an amazing sunset!"

Kairi stared at Sora with a look of subtle agony as he gave her a firm and pleading gaze. Their eyes were locked in a silent battle as Riku sighed in his own distress, wishing he weren't so much a part of any of it. At that moment, the three slightly jerked from side-to-side, as there was sudden motion. Pretty soon, the train had begun to move forward and they were well on their way to Twilight Town. Kairi exhaled and looked away in defeat.

"Well, it's too late to back down now," Kairi said.

"Are you mad at me? Aw, please don't be mad… I'm really sorry. I just wanted to finally get to know you," Sora said with the utmost sincerity. The redhead saw his expression to be truthfully earnest, thinking that he was acting like a whiney kid who desperately wanted to get something from a toy store.She was a bit surprised to see this kind of attitude coming from Sora, who was usually portrayed as someone who kept his cool. As strange as it seemed to her, seeing him like this cooled her down somehow.

"I'm not… mad," Kairi replied. "Just surprised. It's not common for anyone in Destiny Islands to go as far out as Twilight Town for weekly reasons… I guess I got a little freaked out. I mean it's a little _suspicious_…" she said warily.

"What? You make it sound like we're kidnapping you," Sora grinned.

"Then tell me – is this really what you do every Tuesday?" Kairi demanded, "And why the heck do you go all the way to Twilight Town?"

"Family reasons – the both of us. Right Riku?" Sora said. Riku confirmed it with a nod. "In fact, Riku goes on Tuesdays _and_ Thursdays, and sometimes he even stays there for the _whole_ _weekend_. Me, I just go on Tuesdays."

"Hmm, wow," Kairi replied contemplatively. Then she noticed the other people on the train, all of which were staring and glancing at them. Looking at Sora on her right and Riku on her left – well, how _couldn't_ they not see two incredibly good-looking guys? And being the lucky girl to be squished in between them, Kairi couldn't help but feel envy coming from the other passengers. It was just like school – Sora and Riku, the notorious duo, the hottest most popular and most suave guys known in the school, always noticed and always adored. It was Sora who usually did all of the smooth-talk and it was Riku who just stayed by his side with equal amount of attention. The redhead glanced up at Sora who sat happily next to her. In fact, what with his infamous reputation she found it very uncanny that he had not pulled off any of his flirty remarks to her yet. As for Riku, well, whatever was going through _his_ head, he always followed after Sora. She thought that perhaps this was all an elaborate trap to some kind of humiliating destination or prank, or even worse, something truly grave that would cause harm. She _was_ a defenseless girl after all, in spite of her tough exterior. And there were _two_ of them she would be going up against.

Suddenly, Kairi barely heard something in her right ear. Looking up, she saw Sora with his head slumped over, as there was no headrest. Kairi stared: was he _sleeping_? And although it wasn't too loud, his snoring was still audible. She turned to Riku to find him leaning on the side bar (as his seat was the closest to the doors), about to fall asleep as well.

The girl sighed. Kidnappers typically wouldn't fall asleep on the job let alone drop their guard. Kairi sighed once more and decided to get a book out to kill some time, remembering that Sora had her bag. She turned to him and saw that he was practically cuddling it as if it were some teddy bear. Cursing under her breath, she tugged at her bag carefully, trying her hardest not to wake him up (in spite of her disliking him). She tugged and tugged, but to no avail – he was hugging the bag too tightly. In her annoyance, she finally yanked…

…and then yelped, as Sora's head fell and plopped right on her shoulder.

Then Kairi's thought process stopped; her whole body froze and her ears became momentarily deaf as the beating of her heart thumped loudly in her ear, certain that it was loud enough to even wake Sora up. But he didn't and she felt numb all over except for the warm spot on her shoulder that he breathed upon. She inhaled his scent: sweet and unexplainably pleasant and definitely the trigger that made Kairi blush at that very moment. When she took notice of the other passengers giggle at them, muffling about how cute the 'couple' was rather loudly, Kairi only clutched her bag in utter embarrassment, wishing she could scream. It was all her fault really, for jerking the bag and bringing Sora down with it. _Fine, keep the damn bag, _she thought and she let go of it in defeat. As if in response, Sora snuggled up closely against her neck as his hair brushed against her cheek. The redhead froze at this, throwing her gaze downward to hide her flushed face. Kairi wish that her hair wasn't tied up so high and she wondered if he was really just faking all of this. But the gentle snoring confirmed that he was surely asleep; regardless, she suddenly wanted to punch him.

In spite of her anguish, the teen didn't seem to consider to just push him softly back in place. Perhaps it was because she felt sorry for him lacking a headrest while Riku had at least a pole to lean on, or maybe it was because the other passengers seemed to watch their every move. Whatever the reason was, Kairi ended up letting him rest on her shoulder all throughout the ride. She found herself too occupied putting up with him to find something else to do.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"Sorry we fell asleep on you, Kairi!" Sora said half-asleep as they stepped foot into Twilight Town.

"It's okay." _It was just _you _who fell asleep on me,_ Kairi thought. She couldn't help but wonder if she saw a tiny smile on his face when he yawned; needless to say, he was still holding her bag.

The first thing that caught Kairi's eye was the sky – the sunset was amazing as ever, as Sora described. She couldn't help but gaze with admiration at the scenery. Sora noticed her fascination and his smirk widened.

"Welcome to Twilight Town, Kairi," Sora said to her.

"I… never knew the sunset here would look this different from the beach setting I'm used to," she gawked. Sora gave her a moment to admire the scenery but looked over at Riku who was getting ready to part ways with them.

"Oh. Bye, Riku!" Sora said. Kairi's view swerved over to Riku, who was waving goodbye toward them; her jaws dropped.

"WAIT!" she cried. "Are you telling me you're leaving us…!?"

Riku nodded.

"WHY!" Kairi demanded.

"I told you already," Sora said, "that Riku and I come here for separate reasons."

"You said for family reasons!"

"Well, do Riku and I look _related_ to you?" Sora chuckled pointing at his face. "It's just US two working on the project – Riku's not in our group."

"Bye," Riku said to them and he left in a rush, probably before he felt responsible for Kairi's distress. She let out a long sigh before casting a glare at Sora.

"First you don't tell me where we're going, then you don't even tell me Riku was riding with us – and now _this_?" she asked.

"I thought telling you Riku's business wasn't important. Let's go?" he replied with that all-too-friendly-welcoming-and-charming grin of his. Kairi needed to punch someone – maybe attack an innocent Twilight Town Civilian – anyone but Sora, who, by now, became somehow untouchable to her. She didn't know why she tried staying nice to him – maybe for the sake of her English grade. In spite of her frustration, the two moved on and walked through the streets of Twilight Town. It was more crowded and had a more suburban feel to it than Destiny Islands.

"Hey, look over there," Sora said. Before Kairi even looked to where he was pointing, he grabbed her hand and started walking toward an ice cream parlor. "Want some ice cream? My treat."

"No, I'm okay," Kairi replied.

"Aw, come on. I'm just trying to cheer you up," he said. Kairi's stern look didn't change. She won't let his charm win her over this time. "Look, if you let me buy some for you, I'll answer any questions you ask." Kairi face almost lit up.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah!" he turned to the ice cream man, "One Sea Salt ice cream, please."

"Hey, I didn't say yes yet…"

"But you were going to, right?" Sora paid the ice cream man and thanked him, giving the ice cream to Kairi. She hesitantly took it, unsure of how to react.

"…Why are you so weird?" she asked. Sora just smiled.

"Come on, let's go," he said and he walked forward.

"Wait," Kairi said, following after him. "You said you would answer any question I asked – you ddn't answer that first one."

"But I don't know the answer to that one, so I can't answer it."

"Okay, fine," she grumbled, licking her Popsicle stick. She wasn't sure if she was still angry with him, or thankful for the ice cream, or suspicious. "Where are we going?"

"To the place I go to every Tuesday."

"That's too vague," she complained.

"It's – where I work. My family's place, if you will."

"Huh? Don't you live in Destiny Island?"

"I live with my cousin."

"Um, oh. Why?"

"Complicated family reasons that I hardly understand myself."

Kairi raised an eyebrow but decided not to even pry into it. She thought for a moment as she licked her ice cream a few more times. It was a strange, tangy, salty sweet taste; almost perfect for thinking mode.

"Um, okay… wouldn't your parents think it's weird that you're bringing home some strange girl?"

"Oh, not at all," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Uh, why?"

"They're not around anymore."

"Huh?"

"They're dead."

Kairi stopped short. Sora stopped a few steps after her and looked behind.

"What?" he asked.

"I… I'm so sorry," Kairi said. "I shouldn't have asked." She waited for him to mumble an 'It's okay' and to give her a pained, depressed look. Instead, his reaction was the opposite.

"Aw, don't worry about it! You didn't know anyway," he replied with a grin. "I wouldn't have let you do this if I knew you might hit a sore spot. Don't think anything of it 'cause I really don't care."

"Uh… okay." Kairi didn't know what to say – he really _did_ seem like he didn't care. Or maybe he did. She suddenly felt her heart go out to him as they walked on with an awkward silence, although Sora didn't seem anywhere near uncomfortable as Kairi was. She thought if this was how he acted with everyone he talked to, including her cousin, Namine. It never really appeared that way, though, since his flirtatiousness was quite apparent in his expression and body language. It was almost as if he was a totally different person from what Kairi had conceived him to be. For a minute there, she almost thought that he wasn't that bad as she thought. She looked up at him; he was undeniably good-looking, almost irresistible and found it hard to tear her sight away from him. A flush on her cheeks developed and she looked downward.

"You're kinda quiet," he said as he stopped in his tracks.

"Err, I'm sorry." She gobbled up the last of her Popsicle stick and threw it away in a nearby garbage can.

"Do you have any more questions for me?" he asked.

"No, not really," she replied.

"Okay, good. Cause we're here."

"Huh?" Kairi looked up; all she saw was a huge hotel with big texts that said, "_Kamaya Inn"_. She was confused at first and it didn't hit her right away. "You mean this hotel? Why are we at a—?" Suddenly it came at her – hard. Her heart beat started to race as she glanced at Sora with a frightened look; his innocent heart-filled smirk suddenly had a new, cynical, conniving meaning to it and all she could think of was tomorrow's Twilight Town newspaper headline saying, _"Destiny Island Girl Raped and Murdered at Kamaya Inn By Male Classmate."_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

**+ a/n:** THE END.

No, I'm just kidding. Um, I decided to make the chapter… a bit extra long for you guys, since I haven't updated in months and all. And, hahaha, look, Kairi thinks she's about to get raped. smiles

Again, I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for not updating sooner. I'll reply to reviews later (sorry!), but really, thank you SO MUCH for reviewing. I also notice that my DeviantArt advertisement drawings are work. Harhar. XD

PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW.


	3. Pick Me Up

**+a/n**: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS AND REVIEWS. They really keep me going. I'm sure a handful of you guys are wondering if Sora is really intending to rape Kairi. +smiles+ And I feel like this chapter is going to be a short one, but we'll see… maybe not. Probably not. XB

Also, in this chapter DON'T EXPECT TOO MUCH TO HAPPEN – INSTEAD, EXPECT LONG CONVERSATIONS AND LOADS OF INFORMATION I don't know why I feel the need to say this, but this chapter is going to be for the sole purpose of Sora-Kairi interaction. I'm planning to have the next chapter be more eventful, though, so stay tuned.

By the way, guys… I always wondered – if Kairi, Sora and Riku live in a Tropical environment… why aren't they more tan?

**+dsclm**: 1- Kingdom Hearts I/II and the Final Fantasy series and all other characters and/or settings of it are copyrighted to Square Soft/Enix. 2- I did NOT write or make up **any** contents of _The Glass Menagerie_; it is a play by Tennessee Williams that is also available in novel form. No, you don't necessarily have to read it to understand the references I use from it.

**+wrnings**: work safe – some OoC, mild language abuse.  
(I thought I might as well have added a warning thing?)

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

**Tuesday Affairs**: _03."Pick.Me.Up."_

"_Riku," Sora groaned, "This is buggin' me out."_

_Riku peeked from behind his locker door to see a preoccupied look plastered on his best friend's face. He was troubled – and clearly blushing. Sora Kamaya was never the type to bring up personal issues during school hours. However, Riku already had a good idea of why and what was bothering Sora so much._

"_How are you holding up?" Riku asked as he grabbed an English textbook and closed his locker._

"_I don't know. I can't concentrate in class. I couldn't even sleep last night." He clenched and unclenched his fist, placing the palm of his hand on his forehead. "I think I'm nervous."_

"…_Excited, maybe," Riku replied. "You were pretty psyched about this yesterday."_

"…_Yeah. Maybe." As soon as Riku was done grabbing things from his locker, the duo went on their way to class with the occasional greetings of shy, bold and overly-friendly acquainted girls. "I just sort of dove right into it, tried to act like how I always act with girls."_

_The long-haired teen nodded his head in response. Right before they entered the classroom…_

"_Wait!" Sora cried. Riku stopped short, shocked._

"_Huh?"_

"_I—I'm kind of scared to go to English class now!" his friend replied with an awkward laugh. Riku couldn't help but sigh. He couldn't decide whether he felt sorry for him or if he was amused by his reaction. "Ha, ha, ha… okay, I'm up to this," he chanted to himself._

_Thus they made their way into the long-awaited English class. A certain redhead was already in the classroom when they entered; she didn't seem to pay them any mind. The two boys sat next to each other and, as expected, Sora started to pass notes to Riku as soon as Ms. Trepe's lecture began. Riku cautiously unfolded the note:_

"Sorry for asking but… did she notice us when we came in? -Sora"

_Riku peeked over behind his shoulder and strangely enough Kairi was staring intently at his friend. And what was even stranger was that she seemed pissed. Riku took note of all this and scribbled a reply._

"Actually, she's looking at your right now. She looks… well, mad. -Riku"

_He passed the note back to Sora as soon as Ms. Trepe looked away. A few seconds later, Sora passed the note back to him. He opened it._

"HUH?! She's looking at me?! Oh man… -Sora"

_Riku sighed and began to write back._

"But why does she look mad? -Riku"

_The silver-headed teen quickly passed the note back to Sora and continued to listen to the teacher's lecture. He jotted notes down as minutes passed. Sora seemed to take more time thinking before writing a reply. After filling out about a page of notes, a folded piece of paper was tossed back onto his desk. The note read:_

"I think maybe… it's because I haven't been able to muster up enough courage to talk to her today. She doesn't know we're going to Twilight Town. -Sora"

_Riku's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow at Sora. He noticed it before, but Kairi must have ben quite an amazing girl to make even Sora shy around her. The brunet took the note back from him before he even wrote down a reply. Sighing, he switched his attention back to the lecture. Unfortunately his thoughts started to wander away from the teacher as he realized that it's been a while since Sora was this uncertain about his actions. He was always sure of his motives but being smitten like this had certainly messed him up quite a bit. It was a good sign, Riku believed, if it were go smoothly that is. Riku's thoughts were interrupted after the folded note hit his arm. He opened it to find a somewhat longer note._

"Yeah, I don't know why I'm being like this. I don't know what I would say. It's frustrating. This never happens to me – I always make the first move. But wouldn't it be weird if I told her that we were going to a hotel? And it's in Twilight Town no less – kinda far. And how would I tell her during school? People might hear and spread rumors and that wouldn't be cool. I don't think I've ever felt so paranoid in my whole entire life. But hey, if I still don't tell her we're going to Twilight Town, don't let her know until we get on the train. -Sora"

_Riku made a deep breath and exhaled emphatically. What other choice did he have but obey his friend's request? He wrote back one last sentence before giving the note back to him._

"Did you tell her which station we're meeting up at? -Riku"

--

"Riku? Riku."

Riku groggily woke up from repeated nudges. He opened his eyes to see his mom looking down at him, realizing that he was in Twilight Town already. He must have fallen asleep in the living room couch.

"Oh, hi Mom… Where's Fuu…?" he yawned.

"At practice. I'm going to start making dinner. Can you pick Fuu up later? You can use my car."

Riku replied with a muffled "okay". It didn't take long for him to fall asleep again with one last thought in his mind.

_I wonder how Sora is holding up…_

- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

Kairi stepped back from him – the look on her face spelled "TERROR" and from the look of it, it was obvious that she was expecting something terrible to happen. He knew this would happen. But what difference did it make if she was already somewhat suspicious of his actions from the start? Any normal guy would start to worry – or try to make the situation better as if to say, _"No, I'm not meaning to rape you in this hotel far away from home!"_ Instead of fretting, Sora decided to act natural as if this was a totally normal thing for anyone else. Hopefully he earned cookie points from buying her ice cream and hopefully it was enough to keep her trust in him.

"Shall we go in?" he began. "There's a huge suite on the top floor by an office that only me and a few other employees can get to. We can do our work there – you can order room service and everything. I got it all covered."

The redhead teen stared suspiciously at him and cautiously took another step back. Sora scratched his head, but his smile remained. If there was anything that made Kairi more appealing, it was her careful nature. She certainly wasn't naïve and thoughtless like half of the other girls he was acquainted with. Ignorance wasn't an option for her – a great display of dignity on her part. Regardless of all of that, she still had the wrong idea.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Y-you…"

"Hm?"

"I mean… why are we at a hotel?" she questioned with a terribly forced smile. If she tried to play dumb then she failed horribly. Sora knew that her trust in him was now hanging by a thread. He tried to remained confident, his attitude unwavering. He couldn't let any thorn of nervousness poke at him now.

"I told you – it's my family's place. They run this hotel; I work here."

"But… wouldn't you be working? Aren't I an inconvenience at your job?" she asked suspiciously.

Bull's-eye. Sora scratched his head. Indeed, Kairi was a sharp one.

"…I can explain once we get inside. It's a long story."

"Tell me now," she demanded. Sora looked back at Kairi unexpectedly – she definitely meant business. This girl was not an easy one to win trust over. "You said you would answer any question I asked if I let you buy me some ice cream."

Ouch. Backfire. Sora coughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Now the tables turned in Kairi's favor – and, oh yes, this was a turn of events – the infamous playboy Sora was actually losing some ground after winning over a red-headed ponytail girl into getting into a train and coming to some distant town's hotel. But Kairi wasn't so easily fooled; or so she thought.

"Sora?!" someone called out. The two caught sight of another relatively young guy jogging toward them from the entrance of the hotel. The way he dressed made it obvious that he worked there aside from the little nametag pinned to his shirt. However his brownish-blonde hair that was standing up with the bottom half of his head shaved was certainly a sight to behold.

"Oh, hi, Demyx!" Sora greeted. He was back to his seemingly carefree self, acting as if nothing happened. After she thought she had the upper-hand, Kairi wasn't so sure anymore.

"W-wha? You know him?" she asked with uncertainty, attempting to stand her ground.

"That's Demyx – the Bellboy in training," he replied. At that moment, Kairi had somewhat lost. All because of some bellboy-in-training appeared to confirm that maybe Sora really did work at that hotel with absolutely no intention of harming her. Regardless, she stayed quiet to observe what would happen next. The bellboy-guy was a bit out of breath when he reached them.

"We were—wonderin'—who was just loitering out here… Who—who's the chick?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Kairi sneered.

"Manners, Demyx, manners," Sora reminded.

"Argh!" Demyx stood upright and cleared his through. He bowed to Kairi – who was, needless to say, at a loss for words – and said, "Good evening, ma'am. How can I be of service?"

"Uh…"

"She's not a customer, Demyx," Sora laughed. "Anyway, this is Kairi. She's from the Islands. Kairi, this is Demyx, who I ended up hiring because he was poor and in need of a job."

Kairi raised and eyebrow.

"Hey, too much information!" Demyx hotly answered back. "Er, I mean – nice to meet you, ma'am."

"N-nice to meet you too?" Kairi hesitantly said.

"Anyway, Sora! We were wondering why you were kind of late. What have you been doing?" Demyx looked at Kairi and noticed how bewildered she looked. "And what are you doing to this poor, defenseless girl? Or, more importantly – why are you holding her bag? …Unless you're going for a new style."

"Aw, Kairi's not scared!" he said. Evidently, she flinched when he patted her back. "She's just – confused. She doesn't believe I work here."

"HAHAHA!" Demyx could hardly contain his laughter. "Well, whaddya expect, man?! You can't bring a girl here on the first date – she'd just think yer trying to get some!"

"_Manners_, Demyx," Sora sighed.

"Oh, right, right, sorry, dude!" Demyx turned to Kairi and held out his hand. "And, sorry to you, Miss Kairi." Kairi shook his hand in an indecisive manner and nodded back.

"This is why you haven't been able to win points with girls," Sora added.

"H-hey!" Demyx retorted, his face flushing red.

"Girls like guys who are good gentlemen and that know how to talk right," Sora lectured. "Be mindful of what you say and around whom! Discretion is vital! And if you score a girl without being a discreet gentleman, then she's probably bad news."

"Yeah, yeah, yeeah, I get it, I get it," Demyx huffed. Kairi couldn't help but let a brief chuckle escape from her lips. She's never seen Sora act this way before, aside from the fact that all of Sora's recent actions were completely unexpected of him as of late. Not that she's known him for a long time, either.

"Anyway," Sora said. "It's a good thing you came out here – I just wanted to check in real quick and leave."

"What?" Kairi and Demyx chorused.

"B-but, dude! What am I gonna tell the others?" Demyx whimpered.

"Just, um… I guess just tell Larxene and she'll – as much as I hate to admit it – she'll cover up for me," he said. "But don't tell any of the others. I don't trust them."

Demyx was dumbfounded; he switched his glances between Sora and Kairi, but studied Kairi more carefully. Sora almost expected him to ask, _"Who _is_ she?_" but he knew that the young bellboy was smarter than that to even ask.

"Err, sure, okay… Do I get paid any extra munny?" Demyx shyly asked.

"Of course not! You're only doing this out of the goodness of your heart. _Right?_" Sora replied with an eerie smile.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Demyx said in salute. "I'm off to do my bellboy duties now, sir!"

Demyx went off, leaving the two teens alone again. Sora turned back to Kairi, who was obviously befuddled by the whole ordeal.

"It's okay, I was just kidding about what I said to him," he said. "I'll give him a raise this month. That way he won't carelessly spend the extra dollars since he won't know they're there." He left out the fact that Demyx had also gotten him out of a bind just now.

The girl only stared back, even more perplexed as to the kind of things Sora said to the bellboy – to give a raise? To have workers cover for him? To _hire_ workers? And did Sora mention earlier that there was an office in the top floor that only he and a few others had access to – and a _suite_ along with it? Kairi had no clue what to think, or if all of these things led to the right conclusion – or even _had_ a conclusion. But if Sora _did_ work at that hotel, then what exactly did he do there?

"Kairi? Hello!"

"H-huh? Wha?" Sora couldn't help but chuckle at her disorientated state. He put his arm on her shoulder: this time she didn't flinch. Maybe she was confused numb.

"Come on, I'll take you out. My treat."

- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

The two teens walked side-by-side on the streets of Twilight Town together – Sora led the way, Kairi followed. She didn't have much of a choice other than to stay with him, seeing as she didn't know her way around the town; plus he was still holding her bag. On their way to where ever they were going Kairi would ask Sora questions after gathering her scrambled thoughts. However, the boy promised he would tell her in time after they arrived at their destination. She thought that maybe he had some sort of backup plan to the theorized rape-then-murder-evil-deal intention but at this point she decided to look further into what was really going on in his head; the truth. She couldn't say she wasn't curious about what happened back there by the _Kamaya Inn_ hotel.

Finally they arrived after taking back roads, short cuts, alleyways and secret paths (many places to consider under Kairi's suspicion list) to a little, quaint café. It was charming, to say in the least: not too classy, but cute and old-fashioned. When they entered, the girl decided that the café was just her style. Kairi and Sora sat by the window with a beautiful view of Twilight Town's famous sunset and a huge clock tower (the café was in an elevated level). It was a beautiful sight to see but after they told the waiter their orders Sora got right down to business.

"I'm sorry that I keep leading you in the dark like this," he began. "I had no right to keep this from you – how we were coming to Twilight Town, the hotel, to this café… and really, thank you for cooperating with me for this long. I know it was probably a stretch for you to trust me." He looked sincere.

"Yeah, it was," Kairi admitted, showing less remorse in her reply.

"I'll be honest with you now," he said. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, I'll answer questions. I couldn't tell you before because I didn't think you'd believe me."

Kairi leaned forward to listen more closely. This was it – this was the moment of truth. This is when things would finally make sense and this is where he'll come clean. She continued to listen on, waiting for him to fess up. The two were locked in eye-contact with intent gazes… then Sora tilted his head to the side with a questioning look.

"…So? What have you got to say?" he asked.

Kairi blinked. "Huh? But… but weren't you about to tell _me_ something?"

"Yes, I was going to answer question."

"Yeah! So, start explaining already!"

"Oh… But you didn't ask anything yet!"

"_Huh?!_" she gaped. "But—but you said there was a long explanation! Aren't you suppose to give me this long, drawn out talk about – about what's happening?!"

Sora raised an eyebrow – then a smile appeared on his face.

"Oh! You were expecting some sort of speech?" he inquired. "I'm sorry; I'm not too good with storytelling."

Kairi was floored. She couldn't believe what he was saying. They clearly were not thinking on the same track.

"Um, excuse me?" The two adolescents looked up to see a waitress with their drinks. Her smile was hesitant and awkward as she looked down upon the two customers: one was smiling cordially, the other in seemingly utter distress. "I'm… not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh, not at all, ma'am!" Sora replied sweetly. Kairi grunted.

"Okay, well, here's your Mocha Latte, Miss," the waitress said as she placed it on the table. "And here is your Piña Colada, Sir."

"Thank you!" the boy emphatically said. Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"You drink Piña Coladas?" she asked when the waitress left.

"I usually get Strawberry Daiquiris," he said as he happily sipped his drink. "This Piña Colada's really good, too, though. Want some?"

"N-no thanks," she said. She couldn't help but stare at him sip something so – fruity… in a bright orange cup with a small toothpick umbrella sticking out. He almost seemed like a little kid the way he looked so content. "Sorry to say this, but I would imagine someone like you to order something less… I don't know, sweet?"

"You're just jealous 'cause you don't get a little cute umbrella," he snickered. "Actually, Riku got me into liking sweeter things."

"_Riku?_"

"Oh yeah," he replied. "He doesn't eat sweet things himself but he can bake really well – e_xceptionally_ well."

Kairi gawked, not knowing what to make of this. Who knew that someone so quiet would have a passion for baking?

"I was never given any cake or candy when I was a kid – not even on my birthday. Maybe they were paranoid about cavities. The closest thing I had to sweets was strawberries… and Riku makes the best Strawberry Cakes ever," Sora rambled.

Kairi covered her mouth to muffle her giggle. That dreamy look on his face in that last statement was almost hilarious – in fact, she thought this whole ordeal was simply ridiculous but amusing nonetheless.

"Hmm? What's so funny?" Sora asked who also seemed on the verge of a chuckle.

"I—I _really_ don't know how to react to all of this," Kairi pleasantly sighed. When the girl wiped a tear away from her eye she noticed the smile on Sora's face – it wasn't like his usual playful smile or a smile just for politeness or for show. It looked and felt more like a _real_ smile, one that showed genuine gladness. He almost looked like a different person, Kairi thought.

"Well," Sora started, "I was afraid you were going to say that – but if you're going to say it from _that_ kind of perspective then I have no objections."

"Mm, what?"

"Nothing," He said. His grin smile quickly faded and turned back into another courtesy smile. "What I meant was – we're getting a little sidetracked."

"_You're _the reason why we got sidetracked."

"Hmm, you're right," he chuckled. "So. Questions! We should start on your questions."

"Mmm… I kind of don't know where to start," Kairi said as she began to scoop up some of the whipped cream from her Latte; of course the cream was already half-melted by then. "Okay. You _do_ work at that hotel, right?"

"Yes."

"What… do you do there?"

"What do I do there?" Sora repeated. "Hmm, that's a good question."

"W-what do you mean 'that's a good question'?"

Sora took a moment to think; he picked off the mini-umbrella from his Piña Colada and ate the pineapples from it.

"Hmm… I guess you could say… I'm supposed to own the place?"

Her jaw dropped.

"_WHAT?!_" Kairi's sudden volume within the little café had other customers' heads turn their way. Sora, on the other hand, sniggered at her reaction. The redhead shyly slumped low and whispered, "I mean – are you serious?!"

"Well, do you know my last name?" he asked.

"Um. No."

"It's Kamaya. And it's also the name of that hotel." Sora continued after Kairi just stared at him in skepticism. Of course – he couldn't just expect her to believe him right away. "Okay, so I don't _own_ the place – not yet at least. I go there every Tuesday as an understudy because I convinced them that I was busy with extra-curricular activities for school during weekends."

"Huh? I thought you said you were free every day except Tuesdays," Kairi recalled.

"I know. I lied to them," he said. "I hate coming here."

Sora slurped down more of his Piña Colada as if that last statement didn't mean much – just like how he mentioned the death of his parents like it was nothing. Kairi found this odd; surely, something was up.

"Why do you hate coming here?" she questioned.

"Oh! I don't hate coming _here_. I love this little café! They make really good Strawberry Daiquiris," Sora chirped.

"I knew _that_," Kairi said. "I meant in general – like, the hotel?"

"Mmm… I don't like my boss. I mean, my boss is going to be out for another week so I have nothing to worry about but I would still rather not go."

"Why?"

"Because that means I would have much more work to do."

"I mean, why do you hate your boss?"

Sora hesitated; it was the first, aside from earlier when they arrived at the hotel.

"She's … oppressive, that's all," Sora answered, sure to not let any pained emotions leak; thankfully Kairi didn't notice. The girl figured that his boss was a relative, seeing as the hotel was run by his family (according to him). But if it wasn't his assumedly dead mother, then who exactly was it?

"Stepmother?" Kairi asked aloud. She quickly covered her mouth from her accidental slip-up. The girl definitely didn't want to seem too nosey about his family life. However, Sora took no offense.

"No," he replied. "My father never remarried after her death."

_His mother died first_, Kairi thought. Then she recalled that Sora lived with his cousin – and that it was because of some complicated family reason – but what about aunts and uncles? Whoever it his boss was, she was probably an authority-figure.

"Wait! Why are you bailing yourself out of the hotel _now_? Wouldn't you get in trouble?" Kairi asked.

"I was going to sneak you in at the back entrance. I was planning to tell you all of this when we reached the top floor," he said, "but this is better. It would have been risky even though I know the place like the back of my hand. I really do owe Demyx a raise this month."

The first thought that came across the redhead's head was why would Sora do all of this. Where was the reward for needlessly smuggling in a classmate into his family's hotel? His motives were unclear; it didn't make sense.

"I don't understand," she stated.

"Err, e-excuse me?" squeaked an already familiar-sounding character. Sora and Kairi looked up; the shy waitress had their main order with the same uncertain look on her face. Perhaps the seemingly tense atmosphere made her nervous. Sora smiled affably at her. "I have your orders – here is your sandwich, ma'am."

"Thank you."

"And here, Sir, is your tiramisu."

"Thank you very much, ma'am!"

Kairi gawked for the second time at her peer's order. First a sweet and fruity drink, now a light whipped creamy, espresso-based cake. It was a very odd combination that didn't fit at all.

"…_Tiramisu_?" Kairi asked after Sora took a bite out of it, "Piña coladas and _tiramisu_?"

"Mmm, tiramisu is so heavenly," Sora moaned to himself. "Actually, I usually get Strawberry Cheesecake."

"Huh. Well, if you usually get Strawberry Daiquiris with that then I guess it makes more sense," Kairi said. Then she took note that Sora had already finished his drink. Yes, having Piña Colada and Tiramisu at the same time would clash. But never mind about food – questions were still needed to be asked.

"Kairi, Please have some of this," Sora offered.

"Huh? But, wai—"

"Come on! It'll cheer you up. That's what Tiramisus are supposed to do!" he said. "You shouldn't think so much. You hardly had any of your Latte."

"And I haven't touched my sandwich yet either," Kairi replied. "So I shouldn't have dessert yet."

"I always have dessert," Sora grinned.

"Yes, I can see that."

"I'm sure you'd like it," he insisted.

"…Well, actually… tiramisu _is_ my favorite dessert," Kairi admitted.

"See?" Sora said. He scooped some of the tiramisu with his spoon and offered to feed it to her. Kairi only gave him a look of defeat, finding just the scent of it irresistible.

"Fine," she mumbled and she let him spoon-feed her a small morsel of it. Kairi nearly whimpered in satisfaction as the light, creamy flavor swept across her taste buds, bringing with it traces of rich mocha. If Sora knew that this was Kairi's favorite dessert in the first place she would consider this to be a good step forward in their strange relationship... if this was a friendship at all.

After the taste left her mouth, she took up a napkin to wipe her lips. She suddenly froze when Sora licked the remaining Tiramisu leftovers on the spoon after he withdrew it from her. The boy grinned when he saw the girl's cheeks flushed a light pink but said nothing of it.

"Tiramisu supposedly picks people up when they're down," he affirmed. "That's what it means."

"What means what?"

"_Tiramisu_ literally means 'pick me up'. It's referring to one's mood. Maybe that's why they make it so light." After another spoonful of the pastry, Sora moved the plate in Kairi's direction. "I'm full. You can have the rest."

"W-what?"

"Okay, so where were we?" he said. "Unless you're finished with your inquiry and we can talk more about cake." Kairi scrunched her brows and cursed at how sneaky he was at shifting subjects. She didn't know whether to object to his being full or continue on with the main subject matter.

"So what don't you understand?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You said you didn't understand something," he recalled, "right before we got our food."

"Oh, um, right," she replied. "I don't understand why you would risk all of this just to sneak me into your off-limits office at your hotel. What merits do you gain from all of this? It doesn't make any sense."

"Why, we have a project to do!" Sora replied.

"A project we ended up not even starting," Kairi countered. "There are a lot of other times we could work on it together."

"You didn't tell me _that_ the first time we spoke."

Kairi winced. His statement was true and she didn't want to admit he was right.

"O-oh yeah, that's right," she subsisted. "But, still. We could have worked around it."

Sora smiled but Kairi had a feeling he was hiding something. He let out an inaudible mumble under his breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said," he hesitated, "that I don't know what to say to that question."

"…I see."

The two sat in silence as Kairi finally began to eat her meal. She didn't even feel like asking why Sora had given up his cake when he only ate so little. Although they haven't said spoken to each other again, Kairi had not felt anymore awkwardness in their silence as if enough words were already said to fill in the gap in between them. The young boy gazed out of the window for a long time as the sun had successfully dipped itself completely under the horizon. The sky was left behind as a huge pink and purple watercolor canvas with bold hues soon to be faded into the dark of the night. They were to soon depart from the café and from Twilight Town.

Although his eyes were fixated on the window, it was not the scenery of the sky that he was watching. Within the window was a reflected image of a certain redheaded girl with a ponytail who was eating her meal. Just knowing that he was in the midst of her presence had picked him up from his usually gloomy Tuesdays. Another genuine smile was accidentally slipped up as Sora thought to himself.

_Because spending time with you is worth the risk…_

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**  
+ a/n:** Yeah, so it took me effort to update much sooner than last time. It was still a long wait though and I sincerely apologize. I have my first day of school tomorrow (ew) and I just wanted to end my (crappy) summer with something good at least. cough

**+review replies:**

FantasyFreak-90210: Haha, glad to know that someone can relate to Kairi now! If she's like you, then I suppose it makes things easier that way. XD

Namilaa: Wow, thank you so much! I kind of didn't see this fanfic as original, so this really means a lot to me. :0 -hugs&kisses!-

Kingdomfantasyanime453: LOL, did you think Sora was really gonna rape her? –wink- This would have been a very different story if that happened. I'm not that great at writing rape-scenes though. Arharhar. I hope this chapter was a good read for you, though!

KHKairiNamineFanatic: Aww, thanks a bunch! I still think the first chapter was rushed but everyone else seemed to be fine with it. This makes me glad. Teehee. Thanks much for your support.

-x-StaarGiirl-o-: Haha, thanks! It means a lot that you like my style of writing. I'm still trying to get better, though. I don't even know if I have a kind of style? But thanks. I liked the scene where Sora falls asleep on Kairi, too. There will be more of that, so stay tuned! -wink-

Typical Sundays: Hahaha, I really like your penname. Probably cause someone named "Typical Sundays" is reviewing a story called "Tuesday Affairs". Weekdays for the win! And there will be more fluff, so keep on R&Ring! -wink-

AnimeDutchess: HEY DUDE. I UPDATED BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED! And lo and behold, I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER BEFORE MIDNIGHT. I'm sick, too, so I thought I'd sleep early (well, earlier than usual). Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow. Also, next chapter might have Axel in it. Lawl.

Russ Dog: My DA account is "Cottonball". I'm not that great of an artist though and I haven't been posting stuff cause I lack a scanner. Boo. But I, uh, blog there? Haha, but you probably already have enough of my writing. XD Thanks a bunch for the support!

Tsuri Kato: I HAVE YET TO READ -YOUR- FANFICTION IT IS ONLY RIGHT SINCE YOU HAVE REVIEWED MINE. -dies- PS- I love you.

Jupiter-Lightning: Hahaha, nope, Sora would never rape Kairi! Maybe obsess over her a little, but never rape. Teehee. Thanks so much, Jupiter, for supporting me! It means a lot that you have been doing so through and through. I am touched. -tears of joy- Thank you thank you thank you!! -huug-

Ch/anonymous reviewer: Whoa, a chain-message in a review? This is new.

Doggone2dog: AW! No, no, feel free to say stuff about all of the characters you want! XD It's interesting to know what others are thinking about! I'm glad that the one train-scene made you go "AW" really loud. Olette is pretty scary (and obscenely out-of-character lawlz) and Riku -is- definitely innocent. And, haha, Sora's cousin! Yes, yes, Roxas -IS- Sora's cousin in this fic but the cousin I had mentioned earlier isn't Roxas! DUN DUN DUN. It's actually Roxas' brother. Can you figure out who it is? Hohoho, I have no clue when I'm going to mention him in this fic! Thanks a lot for reviewing!

K a i r i . O c e a n .: HAHA, oh man. It's totally awesome that you found this fic through my DA drawing. LOL. My DA advertising is working! Thanks so much for looking for this fic – although you could have just asked me. -wink- This means a lot to me. Thanks again!

Sky Stroll: I love -YOU- so much!! -hug- I'LL KEEP CONTINUING THIS AS LONG AS YOU KEEP WRITING FANFICS OF YOUR OWN, K? We'll be fanfic buddies. XD LAWL.

XxmylastbreathxX: Thanks a bunch! Glad you enjoyed it. Here's your update. I hope it was a good read. XD

KeiraLoveKH: Thanks a million for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And sorry for the wait.

The Walker of Dreams: I think I replied to your review already. XD but, YES, SELPHIE/IRVINE. I just love the original pairing of those two in FFXIII. Irvine's entrance will be later though. And, um, sorry for bursting you bubble when you had to read all of the OoCness. I actually had some of their character descriptions in that (annoyingly) long DA description in those drawings. cough But it was a terribly dragged out description so I don't blame you for not reading it. I kind of didn't expect anyone to anyway. XD Also, I tried to tone down the blocks of texts. I hope I did alright this time. My beta-reader mentioned something about that, too, actually. Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for your criticism! It also means a lot to me that you also decided to hunt for this fic after seeing the DA picture of it. Thanks a bunch!

darkwing13: YAY! I'm so happy that you find this to be a "funny/happy/funny" fic! It's intended to be like that and I wasn't sure if I pulled it off right. DX So, thank you so much! Your review meant a lot! -hug-

_YOUR REVIEWS MEAN SO MUCH, GUYS! _Whether it's your first time reading this or if you've read this from the beginning, my sincere thanks to all of you who have read this and who have reviewed. And if you haven't reviewed already, **don't forget to click that review button**.

Until next time!

-Tadako.Kazahaya


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